


Too Young To Remember

by hustlexrose



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: 18 and up, F/F, Flirting, Gen, Modern AU, Summer Nights, Young and In Love, confused feelings, cute stuff, fluff with a twist, mild teen drinking, young!Carterwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-19 13:31:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7363237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hustlexrose/pseuds/hustlexrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern, young!Carterwood AU where Dottie and Peggy spend their last summer together after high school graduation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Too Young To Remember

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea for young!Carterwood fluff with a twist and just couldn't let it go. Inspired by many things, as you'll see by the end. Enjoy!
> 
> Title taken from the gloriously catchy Florrie song of the same name.

June

"Come ooon, one ride!" Dottie exclaimed with wide eyes. She grabbed Peggy's hand and pulled her toward the ferris wheel. Her voice teetered on the brink of a falsetto, floating on the night air. It was crowded and hot; a muggy summer night in the middle of June. Peggy clumsily bumped into people as Dottie drug her through the masses, past the games and incessant blinking lights of the carnival. 

"I don't know why you wanted to come here, Dottie," Peggy grumbled. She was weaving through families eating various fried desserts and children holding small plastic bags of water with little goldfish swimming frantically. Dottie halted suddenly and turned to face her. 

"Peggy," Dottie said in that way she had- cheerful, but placating. Peggy could see she was exasperated with her, but she was still smiling. Peggy loved that smile. Dottie spoke, slowly at first, deliberately emphasizing her words. 

"This is our last summer ever, so we have to do it right! We're not kids anymore, Peg. We just graduated high school! Who knows when we'll see each other again!"

Peggy lost herself momentarily in Dottie's smile. She hated to admit that she was right on that last count, though. She told Dottie she'd gotten recruited for a prestigious school, but what had really happened was Peggy was recruited for a government code-breaking school. She wasn't allowed to talk to anyone about it, not even her family. Dottie, meanwhile, had still not mentioned having any plans past tonight. And, truthfully, that was fine with Peggy. Dottie had always been her escape from reality. 

"Come on Peg, the line isn't even that long!" Dottie insisted, tugging her hand once more and beginning again to trek across the field. 

Peggy secretly loved Dottie's child-like enthusiasm for things like this: carnivals, anything glittery, small animals, sunsets. But Dottie could also be quite mature and grown up for her age, and that was what really drew Peggy to being her friend. Or, Peggy thought, whatever this was going on between them. Dottie had had plenty of boyfriends since freshman year, but none of them seemed to stick. Peggy, too, had her fair share of interested boys, but after her last break up, she figured she was fine on her own for a while. But, somehow, there was always one person she could come back to and that was Dottie. Peggy had other female friends, her best friend Angie for instance, but it was different with Dottie. Peggy couldn't explain how, but she just felt like something else was going on. And this "last summer ever" business Dottie kept on about only made Peggy's need for confirmation more urgent. But Dottie was already notoriously hard to read and Peggy was too shy for the moment to push her. 

As they approached the bottom of the ferris wheel, Dottie jumped into the car first and motioned excitedly for Peggy to sit next to her. Peggy awkwardly climbed in and pulled the metal bar down over their laps. They were sitting close- too close. She could smell Dottie's shampoo. Peggy loved that smell. As the ferris wheel cranked up and their car started to rise above the food stands and colored tents, Peggy saw why Dottie was so keen to jump on the ferris wheel at this exact moment. 

"Oh, Dottie," Peggy breathed as she looked out over the small houses laying peacefully underneath the pink sky. "Look, it's so beautiful." 

"I know," Dottie said. Peggy turned and saw Dottie staring at her. "That's why I wanted you to see it," she smiled again. 

Their car stopped at the top of the wheel and, for a few minutes, they had a perfect view. Peggy turned to Dottie and smiled, lost in the moment. The setting sun seemed to bounce light off every one of Dottie's blonde curls. Just then, Dottie placed her hand in Peggy's. Peggy felt her pulse quicken and pulled away. But then she saw the apprehension on Dottie's face. For a long moment, Peggy was too embarrassed to say anything and they sat in an awkward silence. Dottie's face fell and she quickly looked away, setting both hands in her lap. 

"I mean, it's not so great. You've seen one sunset, you've seen them all, right?" Dottie rolled her eyes and looked out at the horizon. 

Peggy realized she'd made a huge error and quickly took one of Dottie's hands in both of hers.

"I think it's positively lovely," Peggy said in sincerity. 

Dottie turned back to face her, looked down at her hand in Peggy's and smiled. Dottie leaned closer to her and Peggy got that panicked feeling again, but the ferris wheel jolted back into movement to start its descent. Startled, their hands broke away from each other and they sat back in their seats. Peggy snuck a sideways glance at Dottie and caught her eye. They both fell into a fit of giggles as their car swept down close to the grass before climbing up into the sky for another round.

***

July

"Gosh, loosen up, Peg," Dottie said, handing her a bottle. "I flirted with those guys for like, 20 minutes to convince them to buy us beers." 

"If I were still home in England, I'd be of legal drinking age. But you, my dear, have a few years to go," Peggy said, disapprovingly. 

"Oh Peggy, you're no fun at all," Dottie grinned and put the bottle to her lipsticked mouth, taking a long swig. 

"Not the first time you've done that then, eh? Peggy said through a smile. 

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," Dottie said slyly and leaned back on her elbows in the grass. The warm July air played with her hair.

"Such as?" Peggy pressed on.

"Such as," Dottie whispered, scooting closer to Peggy. 

"Your name isn't really Dottie?" Peggy joked. 

Dottie smirked and gave an amused little laugh. She leaned in even closer and Peggy felt herself pulled in like a magnet, despite herself. 

"Such as..." her face was dangerously close to Peggy's now; mouth and eyes half open. Peggy heard the band start a few notes in the distance. 

"This is my favorite song EVER!!" Dottie suddenly exclaimed. 

"What?" Peggy asked with a start, but it was too late. Dottie was already up and dancing around on the lawn and the band was playing at full volume now. Peggy watched her for a moment; intrigued and wistful. Dottie's long form moving gracefully, silhouetted by the lights coming off the concert stage. 

"Get up here, Peg!" Dottie demanded, motioning for Peggy to stand and join her. Peggy gave her a reluctant smile and pushed herself up to her feet.  
"And drink your damn beer," Dottie commanded with a smirk. She held the bottle out again and Peggy took it from her grasp, their fingers touching briefly. Peggy held it to her mouth and took a drink, her eyes on Dottie the whole time. 

"That's my girl," Dottie teased and Peggy's heart fluttered in her chest. 

***

August

"Pink or blue?" Dottie asked over her shoulder. 

"You know that stuff is incredibly bad for your teeth," Peggy answered. 

"Both then," Dottie said with a grin, pulling a few dollars out of the pocket of her shorts. 

"And just wait until we get to the salt water taffy," Dottie said over her shoulder with a mischievous grin. 

Peggy gave her that look that said she disapproved but couldn't help but find Dottie endearing at the same time. The hot August sun shimmered uninterrupted against the blue sky as they strolled down the boardwalk; Dottie occasionally putting enormous tufts of cotton candy into her mouth. 

"Want some?" she asked through a mouthful of fluff and leaned the plastic cone in Peggy's general direction. Peggy peered at her over her red sunglasses.

"I'm quite fine, thank you," Peggy said stubbornly. 

Dottie shrugged and let out a sigh as if to say, 'what am I going to do with you.'

"So, beach time?" Dottie asked hopefully. 

"Yes, but only if you promise to put on more sunscreen," Peggy said protectively. 

"Only if you promise to help me put it on," Dottie said smiling. 

Peggy felt her cheeks go rosy. She'd been dreading and longing to see Dottie in her bikini all week leading up to this trip. By now, Peggy thought she'd been getting some pretty positive signals, so she decided to be bold. 

"Well, let's not waste any time then," Peggy said with as much confidence as she could. 

Dottie made a face that said she was impressed and plopped the last bit of cotton candy into her mouth. She kept eye contact with Peggy and licked the crystallized sugar off her fingers. Peggy felt something inside her shift and followed Dottie down to the beach. 

***

Hours and hours later, the ocean crashed down on the shore in long waves. The rhythmic woosh of the water approaching, receding, approaching, receding. Peggy was mesmerized by it. She'd always loved the ocean; the endless possibilities of it. 

She looked down at Dottie who was lying beside her on the sand. Her blonde hair was still curled around her shoulders but frizzy from the humidity and sea air. She had put on a white hoodie over her bathing suit. Peggy had brought it with her. "Carter" was written on the back and their high school's initials- S.S.R. - were on the front in bright blue. All the seniors got them. Peggy's was about one size too big on Dottie, but Peggy thought she looked adorable in it. She never wanted Dottie to take it off.

They had been up all night talking about everything and nothing and had fallen into a companionable silence for the last few moments. As the sun rose slowly above the waves, Dottie looked up at her and propped herself up on one elbow. 

"I'm really gonna miss you, Peg," she said, her eyes searching.

"Oh Dottie, don't be so dramatic," Peggy said, trying to cover her true feelings. "I'm sure we'll see each other plenty. It just might be a while." 

Peggy pulled her knees up to her chest and crossed her arms. She looked down and started tracing shapes in the sand with her toe. 

"Do you think we'll always remember this moment?" Peggy asked as she gazed out ahead. The horizon was just becoming visible as dawn broke over the water. It was like another place; something out of a dream. 

"Of course, Peg," Dottie said, taking her hand, just like that night on the ferris wheel. But this time Peggy didn't dare pull away. Dottie pulled her close then, and kissed her on the mouth. Peggy's heart felt about to burst as she took Dottie's head in her hands. She could still taste a hint of cotton candy on her lips. They broke the kiss and smiled at each other, eyes full of hope for the future.

"Now I'll always remember," Dottie grinned. 

***

 

15 years later... 

Agent Peggy Carter took a deep breath and felt the cold Russian air fill her lungs. Even in the middle of summer she was freezing here. Her breath was a stream of smoke as she exhaled into the black night. 

Waiting. This was always the hardest part for her. Peggy never was very patient. Waiting on a signal that she was clear to enter the building. Waiting for that one quick flash of light. She tried to distract herself by thinking about something else, anything else. "Think about some place warm," she mumbled to herself as she shoved her hands in to her pockets. 

In times like these, Peggy often thought about that summer she spent with Dottie and that last night on the beach in particular. That was the last time she'd seen Dottie. She wondered from time to time what she'd got up to and how she was getting on now. 

Peggy's thoughts were interrupted as she sensed someone behind her in the darkness. Slowly, she reached for her gun and turned quietly on her heel to get a better view of who was trying to sneak up on her. In the faint light, she saw a silhouette approaching her. As they drew just close enough to see, Peggy's heart sank to her stomach. 

"Dottie?" she asked, incredulous. Peggy started to lower her weapon. Dottie's blonde curls were now straightened and jet black, but Peggy would recognize those blue eyes anywhere.

"Oh, Dottie- is it really you? Where have you been all these years?" Peggy asked. 

"Who the hell is Dottie?" the woman replied, before kicking Peggy's gun out of her hand and delivering a sucker punch that knocked her out cold.


End file.
